A New Friend
by E.M. Nemesis
Summary: Another little something. Margaret is a girl that has lived in Tulsa for years, but no one noticed her until she became friends with Pony and the gang. Pony's POV. Dally and Johnny are alive. No pairings now, maybe later.DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

This is my second story. It's quite an accomplishment for me.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone but Margaret and the plot.**

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Chapter one

**Ponyboy's POV:**

AsI was walking home from school, I swore I felt as if someone was following me. Sure enough, as I turned around, I saw a shy girl walking a little ways behind me. She was looking down at her feet with a light blush tinting her cheeks. I could tell she was a greaser by the clothes she was wearing and the fact that she had a little smudge of dirt under one of her cheek bones. Socs never walked around with dirt on their person.

She had probably been following me for a while, and I couldn't tell why. I looked back every few minutes to see if she was still following me, and every time, I saw that she was. She would even look up at me when I looked back, but she would look back down really quick.

"Are you following me?" I asked her. I might as well get right to the point if that's what I want to know right?

"Oh, no I wasn't. It's just that my house is at the end of the block here." she said as she came up next to me and pointed.

"Oh, okay. So what's your name then?" I asked her. She seemed nice enough.

"I'm Margaret," she replied quietly, " but why would you want to know my name?"

When she said that I felt so sorry for her. It didn't seem like she had many friends, and she looked like she was about to cry out of self pity when I asked her name.

"I think you're very nice. We should be friends." I told her as I put a hand on her shoulder. She was an okay looking girl I guess. She had copper colored, straight hair that went to the small of her back, and olive eyes. She was reasonably tall, but was still a few inches shorter than me.

She looked up at me and gave me a weak smile. I could tell that she would like that. We got to her house and she told me good bye with a real smile. I walked home knowing I had made a new friend.

I walked home with a small smile on my face.

"What's got you so happy Pony?" Soda asked me when I walked in. He looked curious.

"Nothing," I told him as I walked up the stairs to our room to do my homework, "I'll tell you later."

I did my homework and went down to dinner when Darry called. I put my books away and went down stairs.

"So Pony," Soda asked me when I sat down at the table, "why were you so happy this afternoon?"

I told him about Margaret. He seemed pretty interested, and when I finished, he got a sly smile on his face.

"Oooh! Pony's got a girlfriend!" He taunted.

"No I don't. You're so immature." I told him. I didn't even blush because I really didn't think of her that way.

"Yeah Soda, leave the kid alone. He only likes her as a friend, and you should respect that." Darry told Soda as he waggled his fork at him in mock severity. They both started laughing.

"Oh shut up. I'm kind of tired, I think I'll goto bed." I said as I cleaned off my plate and put it away.

I walked upstairs and undressed so that I was only in my boxers and undershirt and went laid down. I fell asleep in a matter of minutes thinking about sunsets and Margaret.

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I hope you like this first chapter. I will try to keep a steady flow of updates. Review please!


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I hope you liked the first chapter, and I hope you like this one too.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Margaret and the plot.**

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Chapter Two

**Ponyboy's POV:**

I woke up this morning with no particular thought to my day and did my morning routine. I took shower, greased back my hair, and went down to breakfast.

"Eat quick, Pony, or else you'll be late." Darry told me. I obliged and said 'bye' to Soda as I walked out the door and started toward school. I met up with Steve and Two-Bit on my way.

"Well hey there Ponyboy. How are you this fine morning?" Two-Bit asked me. I answered with a simple 'fine' and he and Steve got into one of their own conversations. I don't really like Steve, so I didn't join in.

When we got near the school I saw Margaret being picked on by some other girls. I stopped walking and Steve and Two-Bit looked back at me.

"Oy, Ponyboy, what's wrong?" Steve asked kind of grudgingly. He didn't like me much either.

"That girl over there, her name's Margaret. I met her after school yesterday." I told them.

"So?" Steve asked. I could tell he was getting agitated by my antics, and just wanted to get to school so he could be rid of me.

"Well, those girls are picking on her and she looks sad. Shouldn't we help her?" I asked I hoped that maybe they would help me.

"Why don't you go, Pony. We'll meet you at school." Two-Bit said as he smirked and cocked an eyebrow and pushed me toward Margaret and the group of girls.

I took a few steps toward them, stopped, and watched them continue down the street toward school until they turned the corner and were out of sight.

I reluctantly walked closer to the group of girls who were making rude comments to Margaret. I didn't want to see her cry, so I walked over to them and they turned around. Margaret looked surprised and her eyes, brimming with tears, widened. The girls walked up to me.

"Well hi there. What's your name?" The girl that seemed like the leader, asked me real sweet like. She had a lot of nerve talking sweetly while she was being so horrible to Margaret.

"I just came over to walk Margaret to school." I told her, taking Margaret's arm and avoiding her question.

"Don't bother with that trash," she told me, "she's just a greaser girl with no friends and nothing going for her." I realized that these girls must have been middle classers.

"Well, that's just what you think, and personally, I don't think much you say matters to her or me." I told her. I'd never mouthed off to a girl before. Then I just walked away, holding Margaret's hand protectively. I let go when we got around the block.

"Are you okay? What did they say to you? " I asked sympathetically. She looked really shook up. She didn't look like she would cry though, and I was thankful for that. I'm really not so great with comforting people.

"Oh, yeah, I'm okay. They just told me that they saw me walking with you yesterday. They said that I was just trash and shouldn't be hanging around with 'cute' boys like you. They like you, you know." She did some air quotes when she said cute. "By the way, I didn't get your name yesterday."

"My name's Ponyboy Curtis." I told her. I was getting the feeling that there was something that she wasn't telling me.

"Wow, that sure is a tuff name. I wish I had a tuff name like that." She told me. That made my day. For once in my life, someone thought my name was tuff.

"Thanks, no one ever calls my name tuff, they just think it's weird." I told her.

"What, I don't think it's weird at all! It is cute and original and I love it, and the people who say that should just shut up." She told me. She was real nice.

When we got to school, we said goodbye and went to our classes. We only had English together. We met up later at lunch though.

"Well, who do we have here?" Two-Bit asked as we walked up to his car to go the DX for some candy bars and Cokes. She just blushed and looked down. "A bit shy, huh? It's all good, baby."

"Lay off Two-Bit, can't you see you're being an idiot?" Steve told him. "I'm Steve." He told her. "You a greaser?"

She obviously was a greaser. She was wearing a big guys' T-shirt with a white undershirt and some jeans. The only thing that distinguished her as a girl was her petite body and face, not to mention other parts of her body that were obvious.

She just nodded her head quietly. "I'm Margaret. Nice to meet you both."

"Yeah, sure." Two-Bit said with a goofy grin. "Let's go." He led us over to his car and did the gentleman-like thing by letting her in first.

"Sorry for this ol' piece of crap," Two-Bit said to Margaret as we started on our way. She was squeezed in between me and Steve in the back seat.

We got to the DX, and I hoped that Margaret and Soda would get along.

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Do you think they'll get along? Well of course they will! Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for all the reviews. I really love getting them.)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone but Margaret and the plot.**

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Chapter three

**Pony's POV:**

I walked into the DX with Margaret at my side. Soda looked up from the car he was working on and came over to us.

"Hi Pony, who's your friend?" he asked looking down at Margaret who blushed. Soda has that effect on girls. Soda just gave her that award-winning smile, and Margaret and I just had to smile back.

"I'm Margaret." she said very quietly, so that Soda only barely heard her. I don't get why she's so shy around everyone. Then again, I'm kind of shy too, I guess.

Soda just smiled bigger in an attempt to get her to open up. "Well hi, Margaret. I'm Sodapop Curtis, nice to meet you." After he said this he went back over to the car he was working on. Steve went to go help him out, so Margaret and I went over to the candy aisle where Two-Bit was.

"So Margie, what chu' want? My treat." Two-Bit told Margaret. I wasn't sure if she liked being called Margie, but she didn't really seem to care, so I left it alone.

"Umm..I don't know. Why don't you just pick whatever you want out for me. I don't really care." She told him, do I have to mention it again, quietly.

"Alrighty then." He said as he picked out a couple of Hershey bars and cokes and went to go pay for them. No one was at the counter, so he just left the money there. I was surprised he didn't just steel it.

Then we walked outside and sat on Two-Bit's car to eat the candy and cokes. Two-Bit just cracked jokes while Margaret and I listened and laughed.

When we left the DX, and got back to school, Margaret and I just talked for a while.

"Your friends are so nice Pony. You're so lucky you have such great friends." she told me.

"They're your friends now too, Margaret. You can come over to my house anytime you want." I said to her. She really could too. I've never really been friends with a girl before. It is a nice change of pace, I think. "Do you want to walk to my house after school together today? We can do our homework together, and we can teach you how to play poker so you can join in on our games."

I smiled to her and she smiled back. "That would be real nice Ponyboy. I'll have to be home before midnight, though. Otherwise my parents would worry."

"That's okay. Darry makes me got to sleep around 11 on school nights anyway." When I mentioned that, I think she got the gist of my house life. I'm glad she's so smart. It helps because that way I never have to explain my parents' deaths to her. "Do you like your parents Margaret?" I found myself asking her. I really don't know why.

"Yeah, I really do. They're real great parents. Never get drunk or violent or anything like that. They take real good care of me." She said.

"I'm glad. Most of my friends' parents are either drunks or violent or just plain don't care." I told her. She looked real sad about that. I guess she thought that maybe she didn't deserve such great parents when so many other greasers had bad homes or none at all.

"It's okay though," I added quickly, " they are still pretty great friends. They don't get sad too often and seem to look at the glass half full most of the time." I told her. I didn't want to see her get sad. She seemed to pretty easily.

After our conversation, we went inside the school. Our next class was English. I was glad for that. It's my favorite class, and we both have it together. I was glad not to be the only greaser in there anymore. The teacher just talked about building up interest when writing and how to make a good story. I took notes and so did Margaret. It was funny because we were the only ones in there who did. The rest of the class, even the socs, were either throwing paper airplanes or passing notes when the teacher's back was turned. I think one couple was even making-out in the last row.

I was thankful when school got out and we could go back home. It was a pretty uneventful day. When we turned the corner away from the school, we saw that group of girls from this morning in the lot. Margaret stopped dead in her tracks.

"Come on Margaret. It's okay. They won't hurt you as long as I'm around." I told her. I wasn't about to let them torment her ever again. It wasn't right, especially since she's so vulnerable because of her former loneliness.

"Okay." she said quietly to me. I could tell she was a little scared.

We walked a little ways down the street, toward the lot because it was the only way home. They spotted us, and started walking up to us. I wasn't afraid of them, so I kept on walking with Margaret trailing weakly behind me.

"Well, hello there handsome." the girl from this morning said to me as the other girls circled Margaret, giggling.

"Leave us alone." I told her angrily as I saw them get closer to Margaret out of the corner of my eye. I would have hit that girl if she were a he.

I walked away from her toward the girls around Margaret, but she turned me around quickly and pushed her lips to mine. It only lasted a split second though because I pulled back and pushed her away. I couldn't believe she had done that. It wasn't my first kiss, but it was the most disgusting one. She staggered back and glared daggers at me. When I thought she was going to try and hit me, she just turned on her heel and walked away.

I jogged over to the group of girls surrounding Margaret and pushed past them. They just smirked and followed behind their leader.

I looked down at Margaret and knelt next to her. She seemed okay, except for a big bruise on her cheek and the fact that she had tears streaming down her face. She had her eyes closed tightly. I've never felt so bad for a girl in my life. I only wish I could have protected her better.

"Margaret, are you alright?" I asked her quietly. I was worried that they'd wrecked her self-esteem for good.

She opened her eyes to look at me, and I thought I'd start crying. The look she had in her eyes was so depressing. She looked as though she lost everything. I didn't dare ask what they'd said, but whatever it was, it must have been horrible because she just started to cry silently again. I pulled her close to me and whispered comforting words into her ear. She stopped crying after a minute or so, and I pulled her back to get look at her. Her eyes were red, but at least she'd stopped crying.

"I'm really sorry this happened to you," I told her, "I would have stopped them if I could have."

"It's alright Ponyboy. You at least tried." She giggled and continued, "I saw her kiss you too. Did she really think she was gonna get a kiss back?" We both laughed at this. It was a pretty stupid thing to do.

We then got up and went over to my house, talking like nothing had happened. When we got there, her eyes had dried up and were not red anymore. Except for the bruise on her cheek, she looked just like she did that morning.

We went inside and were greeted by Darry who was reading the paper and got a knowing smile on his face as he asked, "Who's your friend Ponyboy?"

"I'm Margaret, nice to meet you, sir." she told him. I don't think Darry has ever been called sir before.

"Nice to meet you too, Margaret, and you can just call me Darry." he told her.

We went to mine and Soda's room to do our homework, and I was glad Darry hadn't noticed Margaret's bruise.

By the time we got done with our homework, which took longer than I thought it would because of all the talking we did, Steve, Soda, Two-Bit, Dally and Johnny had gotten to our house. I got Margaret a bandage for her cheek and we went out to the sitting room where everyone was playing poker, except for Darry though. He was making dinner.

"Who's she?" Dally asked rather rudely, looking up from his cards. He never was one to be nice when it came to strangers.

"My name's Margaret." she said quietly. Dally smirked at her.

"Well, another shy one. I'm Dally." He told her looking back at his hand. "This here's Johnny." he told her, jerking a thumb toward the shy boy next to him.

"Hi." he told her very quietly. Well, more quietly than usual, anyway.

"Hello." She told him back.

"Well you two are just about the two least talkative people I've ever met!" Two-Bit piped in.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." I said to him, a little smile on my face as I went to go pull up two chairs for Margaret and myself.

"Do you know how to play poker Margaret?" Soda asked cheerfully. She just shook her head.

"Well then come on over next to me, I'll teach you. The ore the merrier right?" he said.

"More like the more people the more money, right Two-Bit?" Steve asked him. They both just laughed.

We spent the rest tof the night playing poker and watching TV. Around 11, Margaret got up to go home.

"I had a great time everybody. I'll come back again sometime." she said as she walked out.

"Bye Margaret!" I called out the door to her retreating figure on the dark street. She waved back, and I thought to myself, _she really is a great friend_.

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I hope you liked this chapter. I'll update soon enough. Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Hello! I'm sorry that I have not updated in a while, but here is the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Margaret and the plot.**

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Chapter four

**Pony's POV:**

After Margaret left, I went to bed and fell into a dreamless sleep, well until around midnight. That's when I woke up from having the strangest dream about Margaret. I dreamt that she was at school, but instead of me walking around with her, it was some soc guy. She would always laugh and talk to him like we did. Then I saw her walking back to her house with him, and once they got to the door, he bent down and kissed her right on the lips! I can't believe I'd ever dream something so stupid. It isn't like something like that could ever happen. She'd never replace me, her new best friend, with some soc bastard! He'd break her trusting heart! At least it was just a dream.

I got back to sleep for a few more hours and then woke up around nine. It was a Saturday at least. I got up and grabbed some clean pants and a t-shirt from my drawer. Then I went into the bathroom to take a shower. I said 'bye' to Darry and Soda and then left the house for the lot. I usually go there to relax.

I got there and saw Johnny sitting on an old couch that had been abandoned there for years. I walked over and sat down next to him.

"Hey Johnnycake, what are you doing here?" I asked him as I sat.

"Nothing really," he replied, "but my old man kicked me out again." He had a sad look on his face, like something was bothering him besides that.

"What else is wrong, huh Johnny? I know that ain't all that's bothering you." I asked him. I hoped I was going to get a straight answer, but you can never tell with Johnny.

"Well, there's this girl in my biology class. She's a greaser, but she's different from the other greasers. She has a more laid back attitude, and she doesn't care what other people say about her. She just smiles and nods and lets them keep on talking until they're so mad she doesn't care, the walk away fuming. She just seems so spacy, but I like that about her."

"She doesn't sound spacy Johnny, she just sounds stupid." I laughed he just pushed me off the couch and told me to shut up with a little smirk on his face.

"Hey, lay off man. How would you like it if I started calling Margaret stupid because she wears boy clothes, huh?" He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. Fine." I told him. We just sat there in silence for a minute until he spoke up.

"You really like her don't you?" he asked me.

"No I don't, at least, not like that. I only like her as a friend." I replied.

"Oh yeah? Then why were you moaning in your sleep the other night? 'Margaret, don't leave! I want you Margaret!'" he mocked.

I blushed furiously. "I was not! You're a liar Johnny Cade!" I told him.

"Relax, man. I was just kidding you." He laughed. "Touchy today, aren't we?"

"Aww, shut up." I said, and this time I pushed him off the couch while he was laughing.

I got up and we both left and went back to my house. When we walked in the door, I saw Two-Bit, Steve, and Soda playing poker while Margaret watched.

"Hi Ponyboy." Margaret said as she smiled at me. She was wearing one of her boys' outfits today, again. I wondered if maybe she'd be more girly if she had friends who were girls. I have to admit, I'd really like to see her in skirt. I'll bet she has a great shape. I couldn't really care too much though. I feel kind of bad for her though. She doesn't have girl friends to share her big secrets with, you know, thing girls can only tell other girls because guys don't want hear it. She has to put up with all our guy stuff everyday, and I so metimes wonder if she ever feels uncomfortable with our dirty mouths. I'm sure she really doesn't nbeed to hear someof the stuff we say.

"Hey Margaret." I told her as I lit up a cigarette. Smoking is a horrible habit, I think, but I really don't feel like quitting. Besides Steve, Two-Bit, and Dally were all in there smoking. Dally was just sitting on the couch, eyes closed, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Margaret just didn't seem to care that everyone was smoking by now. She used to tell us it was a bad habit, and that she didn't like us smoking, but everyone just sort of ignored her complaints, so she gave up on them. I knew that deep down, she was still complaining, though.

I sat down next to Dally on the couch with Johnny on my other side. I just had a bored look on my face, a cigarette hanging out of one side of my mouth, leaning my arms on my lap. Today was going to be a long day. It was raining outside. In fact, it was supposed to snow later. It was getting pretty close to December by now.

We sat around and played poker while watching TV for a while. Then we decided to turn off the TV and turn on the radio. We found an Elvis song playing and Two-Bit jumped up on the couch and sang along to it, using a comb he had in his pocket for a microphone. We all started laughing. He jumped off the couch and grabbed Steve by the waste as he picked him up and swung him around. Steve wrested himself out pf his grasp and fell on the floor as he did. This only made everyone laugh harder.

Then Soda got up and picked Margaret up with him. He hoisted her up and tossed her to Two-Bit. He caught her and flung her over his shoulder as he jumped around. She was laughing the entire time as she tried and failed to get them to put her down.

We finally calmed down after awhile and just sat and talked and laughed. Dally told us about how he had met up with Tim after slashing his tires again. We all just laughed as Dally told us how he beat Tim to a pulp.

It had started snowing outside. Not much though. I decided to walk Margaret home. I grabbed my jacket for her and we went out.

"Aren't you cold Pony?" She asked me as we got about a block from her house. I was a little cold, but not really, even though I was wearing one of Soda's old sweatshirts with the sleeves cut off.

I just stuck my hands in my pocket. "Nope, not really." I just took out a cigarette, lit up, and put my hands back in my pocket. "Are you cold?"

"I'm okay." She said as she smiled up at me. "Thanks for letting me use your jacket."

"It's no problem. I'm glad you're not cold. You never wear jackets, and I can't figure out why." I told her as I smiled back. She just shrugged and looked back ahead.

We got to her house and she gave me a quick hug. I smiled to myself and hugged back. I watched as she walked up the steps to her door and gave me a quick grin as she walked inside. I just turned around and headed back home.

When I got there, I opened the door and all the guys swarmed around me with knowing smirks on their faces.

"So how did your walk go?" Soda asked innocently.

"Fine." I replied slowly. I hung the jacket back up on the coat rack and sat on the couch. Steve, Soda, and Two-Bit followed. They sat down on either side of him. I think they were up to something.

'So did ya kiss her!" Two-Bit asked suddenly. If I had been drinking something, I definitely would have spit it all out. Okay, so that's what they were up to.

"No, of course I didn't kiss her. She's just a friend." I told him calmly, even though I was starting to doubt myself a little. She was so soft and she felt so nice to hug... no, I don't feel that way about her... I think.

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I hope you like this chapter. Oh, is Pony falling for Margaret? Tell me if you want it to happen or not in your reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone! Well, enough chit-chat, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: I only own Margaret and the plot.**

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Chapter five

**Margaret's POV:**

Wow, it's so great having friends. I wish I could have had this opportunity sooner! My entire life, no one has even come near me. I guess it's because I seem like the mute of the school, always in the shadows, the girl nobody notices or cares about. A few days ago, I don't think anyone would have noticed if I'd dropped dead in the middle of the classroom. I kind of liked it that way though. I never have dug being the center of attention, not that I've ever experienced that feeling before.

When I met Pony, life seemed to look up. I had gotten used to the loneliness, but I think deep down, I was really hurting. Pony changed all that. He's the best friend any girl could ever ask for. He's sweet and sensitive and real easy to talk to. I love everything about him! I'm glad we're friends.

Then he introduced me to the rest of the gang. I love them all like brothers. That must be kind of hard to believe because I've only known them for a few days, but I really feel that I have a bond with them. I hope they all like me back. Soda and Darry are so good to me all the time. Their like a second set of parents to me. Soda's always so sweet and carefree, and just like Pony he listens to me and we like to be in each others' company. Darry is like a caring father to me. He even taught me how to cook eggs! That doesn't seem like much, but even though my parents take care of me and love me, they don't really spend one on one time with me often.

Steve and Dally think of me as a baby almost. They kind of look out for me in their own way I guess. They refuse to let me come in contact with alcohol at all, and it really bugs them when I walk around town without one of the gang with me. They told me it's not that they care all that much, it's just because they don't want to find my dead body in some alleyway. They don't have to care about me, it's okay. They have better things to worry about I'm sure.

Two-Bit is great with me though. He treats me like I were his baby sister. I've met his real sister once, but she's older than me, so we don't talk much. He isn't as strict when it comes to drinking like Darry, Steve, or Dally are with me. I still don't drink though. He likes it whwn I watch Mickey with him. I'm still pretty much a kid, so whenever it's on, I'll go and sit down next to him on the floor and we watch it together. We both start cracking up at all the best funny parts.

I'm still pretty quiet with the gang though. That's why I like Johnny. Him and I get along real well because we are both the quietest. I like to follow Johnny places when he goes out. I must seem like a tagalong, but I look up to him just like I look up to every other member of the gang. He doesn't seem to mind though, and he talks to me a little when we walk around together.

I'm going over there right now. It's cold outside, so even though I don't usually wear them, I'll put on a jacket. I have a favorite one, it's green.

"Bye Momma, Papa!" I called back into the house. It sounds babyish that I still call them that instead of Mom or Dad like everyone else, but I like to call them that, and they don't seem to mind it really.

"Bye sweetheart!" The called back in unison. They laughed a little as they realized they'd said it at the same time. It's like they think the same.

I trudged through the snow on the ground and just stared up at the sky. I prayed silently no Socs would see me.

I stopped at the DX first because it was the middle of the day and I knew that Sodapop and Steve would be there.

"Hello." I said quietly to Soda as I walked up to the counter after shaking the snow off my converse at the door.

"Well hey there, sweety pie!" He said to me with that big movie star grin as he looked up from a car magazine he had obviously stolen off the rack. Some off the gang called me sweety pie because I was always so quiet and polite about their rude teenage boy behavior. I thought the way they acted was funny though. " How are you this fine day? Seems like forever when I last saw you!"

"It's only been a day Sodapop. I told him with a little smile on my face as I walked up to the counter to chat.

"Really? Seems like _forever_!" He told me as he put emphasis on the 'forever' part. He was funny that way.

Just then a bunch of girls came in and looked at Soda and giggled. The said girly 'hi's to him as the pushed past me and knocked me down. I got backup though and laughed a little. Soda just gave me an apologetic look. I smiled to him and walked around back to the garage. I saw Steve in the hood of a car. He looked up at me when he heard my foot steps and then looked back in muttering a simple 'Hey kid'.

"Hello Steve." I said as I came over to him. He seemed immersed in what e was doing so I didn't disturb him. I just pulled up an old lawn chair from the corner of the room and watched him work. He didn't say anything, so I assumed it was okay for me to be there.

When he finally did come out from under the hood, he must have noticed how I was watching so intently. To tell you the truth, I actually thought it was kind of interesting the way all those gears matched up to make the car run. Part of the reason I was watching though was because there was a little spider that kept crawling around where he was working. I liked spiders.

Steve gave me an actual smile, not a smirk, and asked me, "Pretty nice car, don't you think?"

I looked up to his face and gave a little nod. He seemed satisfied with that and nodded back as he walked out of the garage and into the store to talk to Soda. I liked Steve. He was a pretty nice guy if you stayed on his good side.

I looked back to the car and saw the spider again. It was just a little thing, so I reached my hands out and scooped it up. I looked at it for a while and watched it crawl over my hands. It didn't seem scared. I liked spiders. A lot of girls lose their cool around them and thing their creepy, but not me. I think their just misunderstood. You see them a lot in cemeteries I noticed. I like to walk through the Tulsa cemetery on the outskirts of town sometimes because it's peaceful. There's something very calming about being with the dead and departed for me. I see little spiders and their webs blowing in the breeze on the trees there. It's kind of pretty in an other worldly way.

I was still thinking about the little spider when Steve and Soda walked up to me.

"What do ya have there Margaret?" Soda asked me as he looked at my hands that were still cupped around the little spider.

"Just a spider." I said as if it were the most normal thing in the world for a teenage girl to be holding a spider and not screaming her brains out.

"A spider? What the hell?" Steve retorted, clearly confused. I explained my thoughts on spiders and cemeteries for them. For once, neither interrupted.

"That's pretty deep." Steve said after I explained my thoughts.

"I think it's kind of creepy." Soda said to me. I just smiled at him.

We left the DX to go to the Curtis house because Steve and Soda's shifts ended early on Saturdays. I went over and sat down right next to Pony on the couch. I still had the spider in my hand because I didn't want to leave it in the garage where it would freeze.

"Hi Ponyboy." I said to him.

"Hey Margaret." he replied with a little smile on his face as he looked up from his book and slung an arm around my shoulders.

"Get your hands off her you filthy greaser!" Two-Bit teased from the floor, temporarily turning his attention from Mickey.

"Oh yeah, who's gonna make me?" Pony laughed.

"This!" I exclaimed as I thrust the spider in his face with a big grin on mine.

"WHAT THE HELL!" He yelled jumping off the couch and knocking his book half way across the room. He did a little dance, jumping around and swiping at himself before he tripped over the book and fell right on his back.

Everyone was laughing hysterically by now, especially Two-Bit. Even Dally and Johnny were cracking up. Pony was laughing at himself with a hand on his head. I didn't think he would go through all that over just a little spider, which still happened to be safe in my hands. Nothing like a good laugh with your best friends.

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I hope you liked that chapter. I wanted to do one in Margaret's POV so you all can see what she's like a little more. Review please!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! On with our story! (I'm introducing a new character. Things are about to get a lot more

interesting!)

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Margaret and the plot.**

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Chapter six

**Pony's POV:**

Today has been pretty boring. It's spring, which means no more snow days. It's just school. These past few days have been really boring, well, except for the fact that there's this new girl in our class. She's amazingly beautiful. I've seen a lot of pretty girls, girls like Margaret, but this new girl is one of a kind. Her name is Ruth.

She is soo pretty and sweet! She's got silky aqua marine eyes and dark chocolate colored hair. She's got the most perfect face and body, and a little beauty mark under one eye. Her teeth are white and straight too. She's also nice and polite. She never talks back to anyone, and she lets them say whatever they want about her. She just laughs sweetly even when they say mean stuff and doesn't let it bother her. I think I'm going to ask her out.

I got up just as the bell rang and walked to her desk. She turned and looked at me with those eyes and I just melted. I could feel my face get hot.

" Uh, hi. My name's Ponyboy."

"Hi, uh, Ponyboy I'm Ruth." She said with a little laugh. It wasn't really mean, but it could have been.

"Well, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go out and see a movie with me sometime."

"Hmm, well you seem nice, and you're cute, so sure." She told me with a smile. I just blushed and nodded.

"Ok, how about tomorrow, Friday is always good for a movie." I asked. It sounded stupid coming out of my mouth.

"Alright, I'll see you then." She answered with a little smirk as she turned and walked away. I watched her and smiled to myself as I went outside to get a ride home with Two-Bit.

"Hey kid. We can go as soon as Johnny and Maggie get here." Two-Bit said as I approached. It wasn't a long wait.

When we were all in the car, Two-Bit just yammered on about one of his many blondes. I guess Margaret noticed I was being kind of quiet, well more quiet than usual, because she kept looking at me.

"Something wrong, Pony?" She asked me.

"No, nothings wrong." I answered. I couldn't tell her I was thinking about Ruth. It was too soon.

"Oh, okay." she said. I felt bad because I think she knew something was up but felt dejected because I was keeping things from her. She's one of my best friends, and I hate to make her feel bad, so I came up with a follow-up answer.

"I'll tell you back at my house, okay?" I said.

She just looked at me and put on a little smile.

"You don't have to you know." she answered.

"Nah, it's fine. I want to." I smiled and turned to look out the window until we got back to the house.

We got back home and Margaret and I went to my room to do our homework and I figured I'd tell her in there. We were working in silence when I started talking.

"So, do you still want to know what's up?" I asked.

"I thought you'd never ask!" she laughed.

"Okay, well, promise you'll be okay with it, butthere'sthisgirlatschool,Ruthishername,andI sortofaskedherout.Ireallylikeherandpleasedon'tbemad!" I said in quick succession. She just looked at me with wide eyes and one eyebrow raised above the other. I waited with a nervous look on my face for an answer.

"What?" she just asked, puzzled, about twenty seconds after I finished.

"Uh, I'm going out with Ruth?" It came out more like a question.

"Oh! Well why didn't you just say so!"

"You're not mad?"

"Why, should I be?"

"Well yeah, or no, or...I don't know. I guess not."

"Well then that's settled." And she went back to doing her homework with a little smile on her face. So I did too.

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You'll see what happens next! Things are about to get ugly and awesome. I hope you like it!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, next chapter, here we go!

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Chapter seven

Margaret's POV:

What!? Ponyboy found a girlfriend!? I think I'm gonna cry! I haven't even gotten a boyfriend yet! Not fair! Okay...calm down. Just keep that little smile on your face, Maggie. If you pretend you don't care, he won't either. Oh my gosh, he's smiling! What does he have to smile about, that Ruth is such a faker! Oh well, if he's happy then that's all that matters.

Friday Evening...

"I've got to get ready!" Pony yelled running around the house without a shirt. I tried not to look because I'd probably blush if I did. I just do that whenever I see a teenage boy without a shirt. Hormones. I just stared down at my finished homework instead. Luckily for me, he threw a clean shirt on seconds later.

"I'll see you later Margaret! Have fun!" He yelled as he ran out the door. I was all alone tonight. Everyone else was either out at party or just getting boozed up. Or in Darry's case, working.

Oh well. I wasn't sad, I was alone for the first thirteen years of my life. I think I can stand one more night. So, wanna know what I did? I sat on the couch and stared up at the ceiling all night. Nope, not kidding. Darry walked in later and said hi. He asked me what I was doing, so I told him I was being bored. He just shrugged and went into his room to go to bed. After all, it wasn't his job to keep me entertained.

Ponyboy came back at around 9:30. He sat down next to me and then smiled widely.

"I kissed her." was all he said. He still had that big stupid grin on his face.

I turned my head to look at him. I gave him an easygoing smile.

"That's great, Pony." was all I could say.

I guess that's all he really needed from me because he just pulled me to his chest in a friendly embrace. I hugged back of course, but I did so with a bittersweet sting lingering in the back of my throat. I wanted my friend to be happy, and he certainly looked the part, so why was this so hard? I didn't like him in any way more than a friend. I guess I was just jealous that he was so happy and I wasn't. Well, I guess it depends on what you could consider true happiness. All I know right now is that I needed that hug, and after what seemed like an eternity, he pulled away and we gave each other a mutual smile.

"It's getting kind of late, Pony. I had better get going." I managed to choke out. Why is this so hard? I hope he didn't notice the jealous sobs I was trying to suppress.

"Sure, Margaret. Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked. I tried choking out a reply.

"No, I'll be fine."

"Alright. See you tomorrow then."

"Right. Bye." I gave him a happy-go-lucky smile as I walked out and finding myself wishing a black hole would suck me up as I walked out the door.

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Depressing wasn't it? Don't worry. It gets better. I guess you probably noticed I changed my pen name. Yeah, it's still the same old me. I love punk rock more than almost anything. I'd do anything to be in a punk rock band. Well don't worry, the story gets much less depressing in the next few chapters.


	8. Chapter 8

Alright, I will TRY to make this chapter long. I'm sorry if it isn't long enough. ;)

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Chapter eight

Ponyboy's POV:

I wonder why Margaret was in such a hurry to leave? I feel so alone now. I wish she'd have stayed, or at least come back. Maybe I can still catch her, she only left about a minute ago. I hope she isn't running!

"Margaret!" I yelled as I ran out the door. She was at the end of the street, but she turned around just as she was about to cross onto Sutton. I saw her turn and come back the way she came, slowly but with a little spring in her step.

"Yeah, Pony?" She asked as she approached me with a hint of a frown on her face.

"Come back inside and stay a while longer, won't you?" I asked. I hope I didn't sound desperate, but I wanted some company at the moment.

"Well, alright, I guess I could stay with you for a while, Pony, if you're feeling alone." she answered. I wondered how she could have read my mind like that.

We went back inside and sat on the couch. I guess I couldn't think of anything better to do, so I sat up a little shyly and flicked on the TV. It was an older movie, so we watched it together in silence for a while. I was getting really into it, but I could see that Margaret was looking a little tired and bored so I flicked it off and decided I would ask her if she wanted to talk. She agreed and asked to hear about my date. I questioned the fact that she was really interested, even half- heartedly, in my date, but I gave her some of the details anyway. She seemed content enough. When I was done I asked her how her evening was without the rest of the gang. I think she must have been pretty lonely, but she was probably covering most of it up to make me feel less guilty. It didn't work.

"You went back over you're homework while I was gone?" I asked, thinking that was hard to believe. Margaret hated school, and avoided everything she could about it. She still got great grades anyway, though.

"Well, that and stared up at the ceiling!" she laughed. "I had an okay time though. I was just hoping your date went well." That was a total lie. She was probably so lonely she had to keep from crying. I felt like the worst friend in the world, then again, she doesn't need me to do everything with her. She's perfectly capable of going out and entertaining herself, so I shouldn't feel bad, right? Oh wait, I guess she wouldn't really know how to go out and find someone else to be with considering she didn't have any fun or friends since, I don't know, kindergarten? Besides, I'd be really nervous and protective of her if she tried to hang with Tim or Curly, God forbid.

"But that sounds so boring!" I said to her. She shrugged and gave me a cool smile.

"Have you forgotten how boring is my middle name?" she asked me. We laughed at that a little. I guess she wasn't totally incapable of having fun without me. I must just be expecting too little of her. Oh well, that's tuff that she wasn't angry or anything like that.

"Oh Pony, I'm so happy your date went well!" she exclaimed. I wish she wouldn't do that. I'll never tell her, but she can be just so annoying with that happy-go-lucky attitude all the time.

"Hey guys, what's goin' on?" Johnny asked as he came in the door, coming back from who knows where. I hope he wasn't home. He doesn't need a beating from those God-awful parents of his.

"Hey Johnnycake, I was just talkin' to Margaret here. What about you? Where you been?" I asked.

"Oh, no where much." He said as he sat down next to me. He smiled at Margaret and she smiled back. "Hey Margaret, how are you? Did you go anywhere while Pony was on his date?"

"No, I was having all the fun here. You should have been here Johnny, it was great."

"Really? What did you do that was so fun?" Johnny asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well, _I_ stared up at the ceiling all night. It was the best," and she gave him a big grin. He just laughed and replied that he wished he was there to see it all. Johnny has been getting better with Margaret. I don't think he liked her too much at first, but he's really warming up to her now. They're great friends and have no problem talking openly with each other, at least most of the time.

"Well, I'll get going Pony. My parents will want me home soon I'm sure. Bye everyone!"

"Bye!" Johnny and I said in unison. It was kind of tuff.

Margaret's POV:

When I got home my mom came into the living room and asked me if I had fun with Pony. She still hasn't met him yet, but she trusts me.

"When can your father and I meet Ponyboy? He sounds like such a wonderful young man to be taking care of our little Margaret," she cooed. My father must have been asleep upstairs.

"I'll let you meet him soon Mama, don't worry," I reassured her.

"Oh good, I'm so excited!" she replied happily. I just sighed and told her goodnight and went upstairs.

"Don't forget now, dear! I want to meet him!" she laughed.

"I won't, Mama, I won't," I replied, exasperated beyond belief. That's my mom for you.

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So did you like this chapter? I hope so! Tell me in your reviews. I'm trying to build up a little.


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